


Reunite Rodinia

by the_problem_with_stardust



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Bad Puns, Bisexuality, Derek Hale & Lydia Martin Friendship, Geology, Geology Puns, Multi, Musicians, Rock Stars, Rock and Roll
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-08 18:29:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17391431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_problem_with_stardust/pseuds/the_problem_with_stardust
Summary: “Who are you texting?”Cora jumped at the sound of Stiles’ voice, hiding her phone under the table out of habit. Then she realized it was completely normal to text a fellow band member. Actually, the other two would probably be thrilled.“Lydia can’t make it to lunch tomorrow. She has a thing.”Derek joined them in the kitchen, nudging Stiles out of the way of a cabinet absentmindedly. “Is that who you’ve been texting?”“Uh, yeah. She’s part of Armageddon too, ya know.” Was it really that unusual for Cora to be texting someone? Maybe she needed to get some semblance of a social life.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Femslash February y'all.
> 
> currently not beta read, proceed at your own risk :P

__

_Buzz._ Cora’s phone chattered against the table. She hit the speaker button without looking up from her notebook.

“This is Cora.”

“Hey there, all-star. The other two around?”

Cora dropped her pencil and tried not to groan. Dealing with their manager was the last thing she wanted to do.

“Just a sec, Fin.” She spun in her chair and, sure enough, Derek and Stiles were in the living room playing video games. “Hey, butt-face! Get over here. Finstock’s on the phone.”

Derek pulled off his headset. “Do you think she’s talking to me or you?”

“You’re the butt-face,” Stiles griped, tossing his controller to the side.

“You’re just mad that I was kicking your ass.” Derek held out his hand, yanking Stiles from his perch.

Cora turned back to the phone. “They’re on their way, Fin.”

“Awesome. How’s the new song coming?”

She looked down at the notebook in front of her. Instead of being filled with lyrics for their next big hit, each page was covered in random doodles. “Um, well…”

Luckily, Derek saved the day. “The new song is great. Just needs a little more work.” He clapped her on the shoulder, squeezing a bit too hard. Asshole big brother.

Stiles crowded in behind him. “What’s up, Fin-ster?”

“You guys are never going to believe what just happened!” Finstock was excited. Cora could practically hear him bouncing on the other end of the line.

“What?” She tried to sound like she gave a shit. Two days ago, Finstock had called at four in the morning geeking out about their new backstage jackets. Sleep was way more important than jackets.

“You heard how Rodinia broke up last night?”

Stiles snorted. Of course they’d heard. The band was super popular and played in the same genre as Armageddon. Their breakup sent tremors through the punk rock world.

“Yeah, it’s too bad. They had a lot of talent,” Derek said, easily slipping into the role of diplomatic nice guy.

“I am glad you said that because I managed to sign their kick-ass drummer.”

A completely unnatural silence followed the announcement. Talk about a bombshell. Cora was glad she was already sitting down.

 “Sorry I didn’t consult you guys first, but the opportunity was too good to pass up,” Finstock said, sounding disappointed by the lack of enthusiasm.

Again, Derek managed to pick up the slack. “Yeah, Fin that’s awesome. When do we meet her?”

“She’ll be at the interviews tomorrow, so you will probably see her there. She starts practice on Monday.”

“Well, we look forward to getting to know her, right guys?” Derek glared at Cora and Stiles.

Stiles just glared right back, clearly unhappy with the proceedings.

Cora sighed. “Yeah, definitely. Excited to meet her, Fin.”

“Sweet, I can’t wait for practice. Catch ya on the flip side.”

And with that bit of throwback slang, Finstock hung up.

“Dude, are you sure you’re cool with this?” Stiles asked, concern painting lines on his forehead. Which was fair. Derek had been Armageddon’s drummer for the past three years. “If you wanna keep drumming, just let us know. I’m sure all three of us can veto any decision Finstock made without our approval.”

Derek smirked. “Awww, babe. Are you offering to defend my honor?”

“You know it.” Stiles shoved at him, then squawked as Derek swept him up into a fireman’s carry.

With a flourish, he tromped across the room and deposited Stiles’ flailing limbs back onto the couch. “Come on. I’m going to finish beating your ass.”

“You keep that up and _I’ll_ be the one beating your ass.”

The way Derek’s ears turned pink was beyond horrifying, Cora leapt from her seat, knocking over her chair in her hurry to slam the door.

Living with her brother and his boyfriend was not one of her best decisions.

♪♫♪♫♪

Lydia detested interviews. She would rather cut off an arm than sit in an uncomfortable chair in front of a camera. But people don’t always get what they want, so Friday morning found her in the hair and makeup room of the local news station getting ready for her last interview as a member of the punk rock group Rodinia.

Once her hair was perfectly styled and her makeup sufficiently punk looking, she sank into a soft blue armchair. Her shredded black skinny jeans were uncomfortable and the red tank top and worn leather jacket itched. Or maybe she was just fidgeting and nervous. Normally her attire didn’t bother her.

A beautiful woman wearing ridiculous heels sat in the matching chair across from her.

“Hi Lydia – is it okay if I call you Lydia?”

She swallowed past her dry throat and nodded.

“Lydia, sweetie, you need to relax. Just take some deep breaths, okay?”

She tried to follow the woman’s instructions, but it didn’t help. Lydia cast her eyes over the crowd in the studio, hoping to see a familiar face. Her mother was teaching a class and her younger sister was at school.

Maybe she was so nervous because it was her first time doing an interview alone, without even her fellow band members. The three members of Armageddon stood off to the side, chatting.

“Lydia?” It was the interviewer again.

Lydia brought her attention back to her immediate surroundings. Somehow, despite her carefully constructed façade, the other woman seemed to register the fact that she was freaking out.

“Hey, I am going to try to make this as easy for you as I can. I’ll ask questions, and you answer them. They don’t have to be long answers, and if you can’t think of anything, just say pass, okay.”

Lydia nodded again and the woman smiled. At least she was lucky enough to have a nice interviewer.

Against her will, Lydia’s gaze wandered back to Armageddon. The interviewer must have followed her eyes because after a moment, she asked, “Would you like me to send them away? I can if they are making you nervous.”

Finally, Lydia found her voice. “I think I have to get used to having them around.”

The woman laughed just as the camera man gave the cue to start filming.

“Good morning! My name is Erica Reyes and I am here today with Lydia Martin, the former drummer of Rodinia.”

Lydia smiled at her, relaxing a tiny bit.

“So, Lydia, rumor is that you signed on to Armageddon.”

Just talking. Should be easy. Her inner cheerleader was so not helpful. “Yes, that’s true. Bobby Finstock called me yesterday to confirm it.” At least her voice didn’t shake.

“You would be taking the position of Derek Hale. How did he respond to the news?”

Lydia looked over to where Armageddon was standing. From keeping tabs on the rival band, she knew Derek was the darker haired one. Was he mad? She hadn’t even thought of that.

“I haven’t had the opportunity to meet the other members of Armageddon yet.”

Erica seemed to take that as an answer. “I am sure he took it just fine.” Her voice was soothing, but it didn’t calm the panic building in Lydia’s gut. What if they hated her before she even had a chance to introduce herself? What if this situation was worse than the one she had just gotten out of? What if…?

“I am sorry, could you repeat that?” Lydia missed the next question Erica asked.

“How long have you played the drums?”

At least that one was easy. “Since I was five years old. My dad bought me my first kit.”

Erica smiled. “Awww. That’s adorable. Did he play too?”

Maybe not so easy then. “No. He just didn’t want me scratching up the pots and pans anymore.” It was true. Plus, he never had anything to make dinner in. Those were good memories.

“Where do you see yourself in five years?” Erica was asking another question.

Lydia hesitated. Her band life and her personal life were very different. She put a lot of effort into keeping them miles apart from each other. Not that it had mattered much in the last couple of months. “Hopefully still playing. If not, then I think I could be a music teacher.”

“That’s wonderful, Lydia.” Erica paused, seeming to study her.

Shit. Lydia knew this was going to happen. Her breathing kept getting shallower and her heartrate was out of control. She could feel the walls closing in, or maybe it was her vision tunneling.

“…think we will end there. Thank you, Lydia for your insight. Now to Jennifer with Armageddon.”

The next thing Lydia knew, cool hands were guiding her out of the studio and back into the hallway. Somehow, she was on the floor and someone was speaking to her quietly.

“Hey there, Lydia. I’m gonna need you to breathe okay? I’ll count to three and you are going to take a deep breath in. One, two, three…”

It took almost fifteen minutes for her to get herself back under control and by the time she could breathe normally, she was exhausted. “Thank you.” If she didn’t feel like her lungs had been ripped out and stomped on, she might have been embarrassed.

“My sister-in-law gets panic attacks. I have a lot of practice.” Erica patted her arm. “You look beat. Go home and get some rest, okay?”

Lydia’s smile was small but genuine. She thanked Erica again, then went to change back into what she considered her ‘civilian’ clothes.

♪♫♪♫♪

They were not ready at all when the camera started rolling. But what else was new?

Cora had expected Lydia to last longer than five minutes, but apparently the interviewer was having a tough time getting anything out of her. Great. The last thing they needed was a prima donna to deal with.

“Thanks Erica. This is Jennifer Blake with the original members of Armageddon. Can y’all introduce yourselves?”

Stiles motioned at her to start. She flashed a winning smile at the camera. “Cora Hale. I’m on vocals and guitar.”

“Stiles Stilinski, bass.”

“Derek Hale, formerly drums, but now guitar and backup vocals.”

Jennifer gestured to Derek. “We just heard from your new drummer. How are you taking the replacement?”

Derek laughed. “It’s not a replacement. I wasn’t a drummer to begin with. And besides, from what I’ve seen, Lydia has mad skills. We’re all excited to have her join the team.”

It took everything Cora had not to frown at that. Sometimes Derek was too nice. They didn’t even know this girl and judging from how cold and aloof she was in her own interview, she was bad news.

“How did you end up on drums?” Jennifer was adamant.

“Well, Stiles was our neighbor growing up, so when he and my little sister decided to come to Beacon State with me, he asked me to join their band. I played percussion in high school, and I got stuck with a drum set.”

“You guys have been together since you were freshmen?”

Cora wanted to glare, but Finstock’s voice kept repeating in the back of her head.   _Grumpy people don’t make sales._ He was probably right, but Cora didn’t enjoy interviewers digging into their past.

“Nah, Derek is two years older than us. Armageddon didn’t kick off until Cora and I were done with freshman year.” Stiles grinned easily, but Cora knew him better.

“And you guys still managed to end up as roommates?”

Next to her, Derek tensed. They all knew where this was headed.

“Yeah, Derek’s my best friend.” Stiles tried to sound flippant. “All three of us are roommates now.”

“Are you sure it’s just friends? Cuz your fans seem to ship you two pretty hard.”

Cora didn’t have to see to know how uncomfortable Derek’s smile was. She intervened. “That’s great as long as they don’t start shipping me with my brother.”

Jennifer laughed, but looked like she was going to pursue the topic.

“Hey, Cora how’s about you tell us about the new song you’ve been working on.”

Dammit Stiles. She knew he wanted out of the hot seat, but he didn’t have to throw her under the bus.

But paybacks were sweet. “I don’t know Stiles, I’m thinking it’s going to be something along the lines of ‘you are a freaking rock-star, why do you still drive a junker?’ It’s the sequel to ‘cut your damn hair already.’”

♪♫♪♫♪

Lydia woke up to a weight sinking beside her on the bed. A hand ran through her hair, which was still slightly damp from the shower. She opened her eyes, seeing the concerned expression on her mother’s face.

“Hey sweetie. How are you feeling?”

Sitting up slowly, Lydia checked the clock. It was almost three in the afternoon. Good thing she didn’t want to go to class anyway. “Better.”

“I made the kids watch the interview in petrology this morning.” At least they didn’t have the same last name. Otherwise people might figure out that Dr. Harper secretly had a rock star daughter.

Lydia shuddered at the memory. “If I never do another interview, it will be too soon.”

“Don’t worry, I think I was the only one who could tell you were nervous.”

Somehow, her mom always made her feel better, even when she screwed up on what was probably national television.

“Do you want to get up? Ava’s going to be home from running club soon. We could make cookies.”

“Yeah.” Baked goods were definitely the way to Lydia’s heart.

Fifteen minutes later, the kitchen was a mess and the cookies were baking. Lydia swiped her finger through a pile of flour on the counter, tracing out her initials.

“Do you think Derek hates me?”

“What? No. Why would he?”

She smoothed over the white powder and started over. “I took his place. He’s been Armageddon’s drummer since they started as a garage-less garage band.”

“You left before they interviewed, but he only had nice things to say about you. He seems like a good kid.”

Only Lydia’s mother would call a 25 year old man a ‘good kid.’

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am positive. You just have to get to know him. I am sure you all will be friends in no time.”

Although she still wasn’t convinced, Lydia’s denial was interrupted by the arrival of a teenaged tornado.

Ava burst into the house, talking before she even made it to the kitchen. “…and he made us run a six mile tempo today. Can you believe that? Why do we have to run six miles? The farthest I’m ever gonna go once track starts is a mile, two if Tori gets sick…”

Lydia laughed, Ava was the most energetic and talkative person she had ever met. “Hello to you too, squirt.”

She pulled up short. “Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”

“I decided cookies were more important than learning about high stand and low stand.” Lydia was missing sed-strat, but it wasn’t like they were doing anything important anyway.

Ava snatched a hot cookie from the tray, tossing it from hand to hand. “I like that way of thinking.”

Their mother, who had remained unperturbed despite the whirlwind that was Ava, spoke up. “This is a special circumstance. I don’t condone skipping class.”

Ava rolled her eyes. “Yes Mom.” She turned back to Lydia. “How was the interview? I couldn’t convince my pre-calc sub to let us watch it.”

“It was fine. They just wanted to know the usual. At least they didn’t ask why Rodinia broke up.”

Ava snickered. “Mom could have described it to them in great detail.”

It was Lydia’s turn to roll her eyes. “I’ll remember that for the next time someone asks.”

With a teasing frown, their mom crossed her arms. “If you two are done making fun of my research, you can go work on your homework.”

“Yes ma’am!” Ava gave an exaggerated salute and marched out of the room.

Lydia snagged a couple of cookies and followed.

Later, when her mother poked her head into Lydia’s room to tell her that dinner was ready, she was staring at her total mess of a planner.

Sensing her unease, she opened the door the rest of the way. “What’s up?”

“I just don’t know how I am going to swing this schedule.” It was insane. Lydia had class from seven to ten, then the three hour practice session with Armageddon, then class again at two. Not to mention three other jobs and a night class.

Her mom just laughed. “You are young, you’ll be fine. Now come eat before dinner gets cold.”

Lydia slammed the planner shut and followed. Dinner was more important than worrying over next week.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello again i have no self control

Monday morning came too early. Cora never understood how some bands partied constantly. Armageddon never partied (unless you counted their weekly gaming nights) and she still had a hard time making it to practice at ten.

Wrapping her hands around the mug of coffee Derek set in front of her, Cora made a grateful noise. Having coffee immediately ready was one benefit of living with a morning person. Stiles joined them a few minutes later, shirtless and with his hair still shedding water droplets.

He proceeded to shuffle up to Derek, who was frying eggs and sausages. “Morning.”

Derek turned around for a kiss, then guided him to the table and set down the other mug.

For a second, Cora envied them. They really hit it off in high school, then started dating during Cora’s freshman year in college. She had never seen a couple act so naturally around each other; not even her parents.

Then Derek plopped a plate of eggs and sausage next to the empty coffee mug and her already overtaxed brain could only focus on the act of picking up a fork and getting it to her mouth.

Mornings sucked.

By some miracle, they made it to the studio at 9:58. It was probably a record. Cora and Stiles didn’t do early. Derek was clearly some sort of freak.

Lydia was already there talking to Finstock. She seemed way too alert, which indicated another morning person. Cora was not impressed.

It didn’t take long for Lydia to pick up the music. By the time an hour had passed, she was adding in all kinds of tricks. The drumsticks seemed like an extension of her fingers as she spun them, tossed them, and crashed the cymbal.

As much as Cora hated to admit it, Lydia’s skills were a huge improvement on Derek’s halfhearted attempts. Meanwhile, Derek seemed happier than he had been in years. He started playing guitar when he was little, so Cora really wasn’t surprised.

After the three hours were up, Lydia pocketed her sticks. She left without saying goodbye, gone before anyone else had even packed up.

Stiles sighed. He was probably hoping to ask her to lunch with the group after. “She is the frickin’ Ice Queen.”

And it was true. She had spoken about a dozen words in the last three hours. Pretty frosty as far as Cora was concerned.

♪♫♪♫♪

Whoever invented eyeliner was a sadist. Why would anyone want a pencil that close to their eye? Lydia blinked rapidly, trying to get the offending black smudge off of her contact lens.

“Hey there, Lydia.”

She turned around, coming face to face with Erica. “Hi, how are you?”

Erica smiled. “Not too bad. You doing okay?”

“Yeah, not quite as worked up this time.” It was true. Hopefully the rest of the band would answer most of the questions and she could just sit there and pretend to pay attention. There was something to be said about cultivating an image of aloof disinterest.

“Let’s keep it that way, alright? Jenn’s going to be working with you today, but if you want to get off the stage, just give me a sign and I’ll come rescue you.”

“Thank you, Erica.”

She grinned. “Knock ‘em dead, tiger.”

Lydia laughed, then headed out toward the studio.

♪♫♪♫♪

“Good morning! Jennifer Blake here with the now four-person strong Armageddon. I just have to say your new single, _Tomorrow Never Comes_ , was amazing. The story, about letting go and moving on, is incredibly moving.”

Derek and Stiles sniggered loudly. Lydia lounged in her chair looking disinterested, fingers playing with one of her necklaces. Cora doubted she was even listening.

“…and the chorus is so heartbreaking. What was the inspiration behind it?”

The sniggers turned into mad cackles. Huffing, Cora tried to keep her cheeks from turning fire engine red.

Derek prodded her arm. “If you aren’t going to tell her, then I will.”

Jennifer looked between the two siblings, confused. Cora shrank into her chair, trying to hide her burning face.

“You see, Cora was having a bit of an inspiration dry spell, so she wrote this song for Stiles because she felt that he really needed to cut his hair.” Derek already had tears in his eyes, but now he lost it, Stiles joining in.

Grumbling, Cora waved them off. “Shut up already.”

Then the two assholes were joined by a soft melodic sound Cora had never heard before. She sat straight up, staring at Lydia. Her eyes were bright, and she looked more alive than Cora had seen her outside of playing.

Stiles turned to Derek, expression just as shocked as Cora felt. “You melted the Ice Queen.”

♪♫♪♫♪

 “So, _Ice Queen_. That’s an interesting nickname.”

Calling someone a name behind their back hardly counted as having a nickname. Lydia’s eyes sought out Erica in the crowd. She smiled at her and gave a thumbs up sign.

“How did you get it?”

Lydia could think of a lot of reasons, none of them very flattering. So, she settled on a lie. “Probably because of my hair.” And it was true, the jagged white fringe could be considered icy.

From the corner of her eye, Lydia saw Cora staring at her like she was trying to solve a puzzle. The scrutiny was not helping her nerves. Only then she realized that she was worrying the chain around her neck.

“How are you fitting in with Armageddon?”

Not at all, but that wasn’t something to air out on national television. “Percussion is pretty universal and the music is similar to Rodinia’s.”

Jennifer sat forward in her seat. “In the published statement, they didn’t specify why you guys broke up.”

Really? The split was weeks ago. And not something Lydia wanted to talk about. So she spun another lie. “We were together since high school and it was mutually agreed that our familiarity with each other and with our style was holding us back from growing as musicians.”

“That’s what the statement said too. I don’t believe it.”

Lydia could feel her heartrate increase. Not again. “It is up to you to believe what you want.”

“No,” the interviewer was still smiling, but there was something predatory in her eyes. “There is a story here and you are going to tell me.”

Lydia’s breathing was too shallow and the room was starting to pitch and heave. No no no. Not now. There was cotton in her mouth and her vison was foggy. She couldn’t find Erica, but another voice broke through.

“Hey, you need to back off.” It was Derek and he looked pissed.

The interviewer – Jennifer? Maybe? Lydia couldn’t remember – turned her pointed glare on him. “Excuse me?”

Derek bristled. “I said back off. Seriously, leave Lydia alone. Can’t you tell that she is uncomfortable?”

The woman looked affronted but saw Erica in the audience giving her the signal to wrap up. “Well folks, we are out of time today but stay posted for more from Armageddon.”

Lydia was out of her seat before the cameras stopped rolling. Erica intercepted her on her path to the changing rooms.

“Hey, sweetie, are you okay?”

Leaning against the wall, Lydia felt her legs tremble. “Yeah. Better now.”

“I was going to make a move, but Derek stepped in first.”

And that was something she hadn’t anticipated. She shrugged.

“Maybe they aren’t so bad after all.”

♪♫♪♫♪

Once the group made it back in the apartment, Derek steered Stiles to the kitchen table. It was meeting time.

Stiles flopped down onto the nearest chair. “She left again.”

“Can you blame her?” Derek looked upset. And an upset Derek could be a scary Derek. He pulled out the _I’m not angry, just disappointed_ routine and damn was he good at it.

“She did seem pretty nervous,” Cora offered, tracing along the woodgrain under her fingertips. She was starting to think their new bandmate’s cool and collected confidence was all an act.

Stiles shrugged. “I didn’t notice. I was thinking about lunch.” Sometimes he had the emotional capacity of a thimble.

Derek wasn’t impressed. “Focus or you don’t get any food today.” He looked at Cora across the table. “We need to fix this.”

“How?” She didn’t have any ideas.

“We need to make more of an effort to reach out to her. I don’t like this new dynamic.” Derek started pacing the kitchen floor. A bad habit he had definitely picked up from Stiles.

Stiles shrugged, dropping the hoodie string he was worrying between his teeth. “It’s not like she makes it easy.”

Derek stopped to push Stiles’ bangs out of his eyes. “She could be really shy. And we don’t know anything about why Rodinia broke up. Based on her reaction, I’d say it was pretty nasty.”

That seemed likely. Cora flipped open her notebook and readied her pen. In a few stokes, she captured Derek playing with his boyfriend’s hair, a thoughtful expression on his face. It probably seemed impressive, but she drew them a lot, so she wasn’t sure it counted.

“We should probably start with an apology. And no more Ice Queen comments.” Stiles said, his eyes closed like a cat. If he could purr, Cora had no doubt he would be.

Derek nodded. “Yeah. I’ll say something tomorrow.”

Cora made a noise of agreement. They could invite her to hang out, but the three of them were hardly exciting people. The drawing underneath her pen continued to get more detailed as Derek and Stiles started to bicker about what they were going to make for lunch, Derek’s hand still buried in Stiles’ hair.

♪♫♪♫♪

“Lydia? Lydia, are you with me?”

Dropping her fingers from the star-shaped pendant, Lydia tried to focus on Dr. Morrell. Most college students didn’t start class until after eight, but music majors were gluttons for punishment. She had a seven o’clock lesson three days a week, as if Mondays weren’t bad enough.

“How is your semester going? You’ve seemed a little out of it the past couple of weeks.”

Lydia thought for a moment. All of her music professors knew she had transitioned from one band to another. It worked out well for her, since her advisor agreed to count band experience toward her ensemble and recital attendance requirements. “I am just having a hard time settling in with Armageddon.”

Dr. Morrell nodded. “You were with Rodinia for almost five years, it will take time to build the same level of connections with your new band members.”

Lydia sighed. “I just wish it could have waited until summer.”

“You only have one more year of the program here, you’ll make it.”

Although it was probably meant to be reassuring, the prospect of another whole year was daunting.

“I hope so.”

“What else are you taking?”

Hesitating, Lydia tried to remember. She really didn’t like thinking about her schedule. Just listing it off stressed her out. “Piano 4, Survey of Keyboard Lit II, Voice, Psych 101, and sed-strat.”

“Sed what?”

Lydia laughed a little at her confusion. “Stratigraphy and sedimentology. It’s a geology class.”

“Are you still pursuing the geology major?”

“I haven’t decided yet. But I do like having an excuse to visit my mother.”

Dr. Morrell glanced up at the fancy mechanical clock above the piano. “Well, that is all for today. Remember to keep working on your Junior Recital pieces and I will see you Wednesday.”

Junior Recital was kind of a big deal. All of the third year students in the school of music had to perform in front of the faculty as well as potential employers and grad school representative. And since Lydia had a concentration in composition, she had the opportunity to compose her own music as a senior thesis project of sorts. This was one performance that she was already worried about.

At 9:45, Lydia excused herself from her voice class and headed to the bathrooms to change. Luckily Beacon Valley Studios was only a five minute walk from campus. And the others rarely showed up before ten anyway.

Lydia waved at one of the studio’s owners before she headed into her usual practice space. Sitting at the drum set, she pulled out her phone. It might be awhile before the rest of the group meandered in. Stiles and Cora were clearly not morning people.

 

**_Big Sis_ ** _– anything exciting happen today?_

_Dude. I just got out of pre-calc. Nothing exciting ever happens – **Baby Sis**_

_Also, you need friends. This is pathetic – **Baby Sis**_

 

With a sigh, Lydia shoved her phone into her pocket. She knew she could always count on Ava to lift her spirits.

Much to her surprise, Derek walked into the studio promptly at 10. Cora trailed in a little ways behind, looking bleary eyed and sleepy. Stiles still had a coffee mug clutched in his hands and a confused expression on his face, as if he had been dragged from the breakfast table.

Derek broke the silence first, and he was intimidating. “Hey, Lydia, I wanted to know if I could talk to you.”

Acting way more confident than she felt, Lydia nodded. “Absolutely.”

“About the interview.” He paused, looking almost angry for a moment. “The Ice Queen comment was rude and uncalled for.

Stiles nodded, seeming to catch up. “I am really sorry that I said it.”

Okay. That was nowhere near what she was expecting.

“Could we try to be friends?”

A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Yeah. Thanks, Derek. I would like that.”


	3. Chapter 3

Cora sighed and threw down her pen. In the living room, Derek and Stiles were having a Rock Band play off and she couldn’t concentrate. Stuffing her notebook and pencils into her coat pocket and grabbing the last few pieces of a loaf of bread, she headed for the door.

“I’m going out!” she shouted over the sound of Blue Oyster Cult. She doubted they could hear her over the noise. Which, hopefully their fans never heard how awful they were; it would ruin Armageddon’s reputation.

Her feet led her to the park near campus. It was easily her favorite place in the city. Cora sat down on the edge of the lake, unwrapping the bread. She was almost certain the ducks knew who she was. She’d been visiting every week for three years. Sometimes she even talked to them, which was not as weird as it sounded, probably.

Once the bread was gone, she brought out her beat-up notebook and started sketching. Mostly just the ducks and the weeping willow that she’d sat under since she moved to town. It was peaceful compared to the constant craziness of the apartment. Maybe her elusive muse would finally offer some help because the next song did not want to be written.

“Um, hi. I was wondering if I could get an autograph.”

Cora glanced up, surprised. Usually she made it an entire half hour before people started asking. The first always made the rest brave, because next thing she knew, Cora was taking selfies and signing everything from receipts to phone cases.

After she managed to escape the park, Cora walked towards campus. Forte, the music store nearby was another place to look for inspiration. She liked writing her own music, but she also was inspired by listening to other artists. Not to mention Forte was the only place in town where she could find a large assortment of records. Because vinyl always sounded better.

An hour later, Cora was still browsing. Did she really not have _Back in Black_? That was a tragedy and needed to be remedied. She turned around, still reading the track list of the record in her hand and slammed into someone beneath her eye line.

“Shit, I am so sorry.” That someone was a girl and she had been carrying a fuck ton of classical piano books. Said books were now scattered across the ground, so Cora knelt down and helped her corral them all.

Handing over the last book, Cora apologized again. “I know I already said it, but I really am sorry. I need to do a better job at watching where I am going.” Her eyes landed on the girl’s shirt. In bold print, it said _Reunite Rodinia._ Oh. “Hey, were you a fan of Rodinia? Cuz I’m from Armageddon and their drummer plays with us now.”

The girl finally lifted her head, brushing her coppery hair from her face. “I know.”

Cora felt her heart stop, almost dropping her record. It was Lydia. But she looked like a normal college kid. Her usual makeup and edgy clothes were replaced with a skirt, stockings, and a graphic tee knotted artfully at the hip. Plus, she didn’t have her piercings in. Cora was so fucked.

♪♫♪♫♪

The dumbfounded expression meant Cora recognized her. Lydia wanted nothing more than to vanish into the floor, but she cocked her hip and stared Cora down.

She cleared her throat. “This doesn’t look like your normal gig.”

“Funny enough, it is ‘my normal gig.’” Lydia crossed her arms and tilted her chin like a challenge.

She watched her bandmate frown at the piano books and decided to help her out. “I am a classical pianist. It’s actually my major.”

Cora looked like she was going to ask something, but one of the workers interrupted.

“Hey Lydia, are you doing alright?” She must have seen the collision.

“Yeah, Paige. My friend here was just being clumsy.”

“Oh.” Her eyes flickered to Cora. No surprise that she didn’t recognize her. Lydia was pretty sure she only listened to classical cello music. “Well, you two have a nice day.”

“Thanks, you too.” Cora sounded even more confused.

Paige looked back to Lydia. “Are you working tomorrow?”

Running through her schedule, Lydia thought for a second. Wednesday. “Yeah, I’ll be here.”

“See you then!” Paige smiled brightly before going back to policing sheet music.

“Bye Paige.”

When Lydia turned back to Cora, her expression was completely blank.

“What?”

“I think I just learned more about you in the last five minutes than in the three weeks I’ve known you.”

Lydia sighed. “What else do you want to know?” She knew what they called her. Ice Queen. Maybe she deserved it.

“You wanna go buy our stuff, then go somewhere and get coffee? I think it’s time we sat down and had a real talk.”

Checking the time on her phone, Lydia nodded. “Okay, you have an hour. Then I have to go teach piano lessons.”

Her favorite coffee shop was a short walk from Forte. She pulled her designer jacket tighter against the February chill. Really, she should invest in a warmer coat. But warm coats were never as stylish.

Once they had their coffee and seated themselves a little way from everyone else, Cora turned to her expectantly. “Well?”

Lydia held out her hand. “Hi. My name is Lydia Martin and I play the drums.”

Cora laughed. At least she had a sense of humor. “So you teach piano lessons?”

“Yeah, mostly to little kids, but I have some adult students as well.” It was weird talking to someone outside of her family (other than the press, but they didn’t really count).

“And you go to Beacon State?”

Lydia nodded, staring into the foamy depths of her coffee mug.

“So, how did a classical pianist end up as a punk rock drummer?” Cora asked, and Lydia tried not to notice the way her gaze made her insides squirm.

“Some of my friends started a band. I had been playing drums since I was five.”

“Kinda like how Derek ended up as our percussionist.” Cora picked up her own mug, the coffee inside as black as her leather jack.

The mention of Derek brought Lydia up short. She knew he said some nice things about her, but Lydia still felt bad for kicking him out of his role in Armageddon.

Cora picked up on her train of thought. “You know he is really glad you took over, right? He hated being on the drums.”

With a shrug that was more of a shoulder twitch, Lydia watched the steam curling out of the mug in front of her.

“Lydia,” Cora paused, as if uncertain how to continue. “Derek thinks you had a nasty falling out with Rodinia.”

“And?” Her brain was automatically on the defensive.

“I agree with him. Just,” she huffed, clearly not used to discussing feelings or whatever. “We aren’t them, okay? The three of us really are best friends and we want you to feel like part of the group.”

Lydia met her earnest eyes across the table. “Thank you, Cora.”

She sighed in relief. “Oh, and one other thing.”

Lydia didn’t tense up or look away this time. She supposed that counted as progress.

“Are you as nervous to play as you are during the interviews?”

Which wasn’t exactly the question she had been expecting.

“No, not usually. I mean, I’ve played in massive concert halls and fancy galas as a concert pianist. Percussion is a thousand times easier.” Lydia paused, wondering if she should continue. Cora seemed to be waiting, so she sighed and pressed on. “The nervousness is a new thing. I hadn’t had a panic attack before Rodinia broke up and now it seems like a weekly occurrence.”

“Is it okay if I tell Stiles and Derek? That way we can keep the attention away from you until you feel more comfortable?” Cora didn’t look surprised or disappointed, just concerned

The relief Lydia felt was almost overwhelming. “I don’t want to cause any issues.”

“Trust me, you aren’t. Derek couldn’t talk on camera for the first two years of Armageddon being together.”

Huh. That was surprising. “I can’t imagine Derek being nervous.”

 “Yeah, sometimes I wish he would go back to that.” Cora gave a long-suffering sigh. “But Stiles managed to drag him out of his shell, so there’s no going back.”

Lydia jumped at the familiar tones of her alarm. It had been over an hour. “Shit, sorry to run out, but I am going to be late.”

“Wait!” Cora held out her phone. “I’ll let you know when we’re hanging out or something.”

Lydia grinned and tapped in her number. “See you tomorrow.”

 

♪♫♪♫♪

 

**_C_ ** _– Wanna come to lunch after practice tomorrow?_

_Sorry! I am only going to be at practice until 10:30 – **L**_

**_C_ ** _– Right, I think Derek mentioned something_

_Yeah, I am playing at some fancy luncheon for Alumni donors – **L**_

**_C_ ** _– What about Thursday?_

_As long as I can get to class by 2_ _☺ – **L**_

**_C_ ** _– I am sure that can be arranged_

**_C_ ** _– And just a heads up, game night is Saturday. Prepare to lose_

_You wish. I will own all of your asses – **L**_

“Who are you texting?”

Cora jumped at the sound of Stiles’ voice, hiding her phone under the table out of habit. Then she realized it was completely normal to text a fellow band member. Actually, the other two would probably be thrilled.

“Lydia can’t make it to lunch tomorrow. She has a thing.”

Derek joined them in the kitchen, nudging Stiles out of the way of a cabinet absentmindedly. “Is that who you’ve been texting?”

“Uh, yeah. She’s part of Armageddon too, ya know.” Was it really that unusual for Cora to be texting someone? Maybe she needed to get some semblance of a social life.

“No, I think it is good you managed to reach out to her. It can’t be easy joining an already established band.” Derek started lining up cans on the kitchen counter, getting ready to make his world-famous chili. The guy should have gone to culinary school.

Cora watched him for a moment before blurting, “I invited her to game night.”

Stiles gave a mock gasp. “You invited her to game night? That’s practically a marriage proposal.”

Before Cora could respond, Derek threw a chunk of onion at him. “Knock it off, man. She’s part of the family now.”

Either that admonishment or the large knife in Derek’s hand shut Stiles up. He meekly picked up a can opener and started helping with dinner.

Cora looked down at the notebook in front of her. A familiar star-shaped pendant took up the middle of the page, surrounded by what could be the start to lyrics. The words were starting to come easier, but they still had no tune. She flipped the notebook shut. She’d worry about the melody later.

♪♫♪♫♪

Well, here went nothing. Lydia pushed open the door to Beacon Valley Studios and waved at the owner. He looked confused for a second, then recognition flitted across his face and he waved back. Operation Normal was going well so far. To Lydia’s surprise, their room was already occupied. She checked the time on her phone. 9:51. This was definitely a first.

Cora didn’t even glance up when she walked in. Stiles just looked confused. “Who’re you?”

“Um…” Lydia floundered. She didn’t really think this through.

“Lydia!” Derek sounded excited. “I’m digging the undercover look.”

Shrugging, she studied her shoes. “I ran into Cora yesterday and figured there was no point in hiding anymore.” Plus, the whole makeup/wig deal took way too long. Especially since she was only going to be at practice for half an hour.

Derek looked thoughtful. “Maybe we should try out inconspicuous for a change.” He turned to look at where Stiles was tuning his bass, expression still blank. “Less attention and all.”

Lydia followed his eyes. “Are they always like…?” She gestured at the two zombies setting up as if on autopilot.

Derek laughed. “They don’t fully wake up until noon.”

Lydia blinked. She couldn’t imagine living like that.

“Yeah, I was wondering when Cora got your number. Did you see her at the park?”

Lydia glanced over at Cora, surprise she hadn’t talked much about yesterday. Realizing she still hadn’t answered Derek’s question she said, “No, at Forte. I was picking up piano books for some of my students.”

“Piano, eh?”

Apparently, it was just going to be a day of truths. “Yeah, I’m majoring in classical piano with a concentration in composition.”

“That’s awesome!” Derek snuck a look over at where Cora was slumped down in her chair, eyes closed, and Stiles, who seemed to have fallen asleep on the floor. Dropping his voice to a secretive whisper, he said, “I’m a closet classical fan.”

Lydia smiled at him. It was always fun to find fellow nerds. “You should come to some of the recitals. We have a really good orchestra.”

“I’ll definitely look into it.” He even sounded sincere.

Stiles let out a snore, making them both jump. Lydia felt slightly guilty when she remembered they were supposed to be practicing. “Should we wake them up?”

Derek sighed. “Again?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PSA: plz dont feed bread to ducks it is bad for them


	4. Chapter 4

The next couple of days dragged. The band practiced every morning and Cora’s elusive muse refused to help her out. Lydia started showing up dressed in normal people clothes, wig-free. It was a nice change. She definitely seemed less aloof that way.

“You still coming to lunch with us?” Cora tried not to look too hopeful. She had an image to keep up and all.

Lydia smiled, looking for once a little shy. “Yeah, if that’s okay with you.”

The group agreed on a burger joint close to the studio. It was one of the original members’ normal haunts and allowed payment up front so Lydia could duck out early.

Stiles took the lead, always excited about lunch. Cora followed at a more sedate pace, listening to Lydia and Derek engrossed in a conversation about Bach. Apparently the two of them became best friends yesterday while she and Stiles were still zombie people.

Once they ordered, the topic shifted into a conversation about best guitar solo. It was an old and tired argument among Derek, Stiles, and Cora.

“Hendrix, hands down.” Stiles said, not even glancing up from his burger.

Derek snorted. “Van Halen.”

“Jimmy Page, Stairway to Heaven.” There it was. They were at a stalemate. Again.

Lydia shook her head. “Lynyrd Skynyrd’s _Freebird_.”

Stiles and Derek froze, then shared one of those looks that said they were communicating telepathically. Which was exactly the kind of behavior that made the fans ship them so hard.

After a moment Stiles nodded like they had reached a decision. “You’re good. We’ll keep you.”

The pronouncement earned a laugh out of the rest of the band. It would seem Lydia had officially passed the entry exam into Armageddon.

“So, classical and classic rock. What other music do you like?” Derek asked.

Lydia grinned. “Well, since you asked…”

They were all music geeks, that conversation could have lasted for days. As it was, they probably made it through half an hour without realizing it. Unfortunately, some people had things to do with their time.

Lydia glanced down at her phone. “I’ve got to get to class. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“See ya!” Stiles and Derek chorused together.

As she turned to go, Cora called out. “Hey, game night on Saturday. Don’t forget.”

Lydia smiled that almost-shy smile again. “Don’t worry. I’ll be there.”

Cora watched her walk out of the restaurant. Saturday seemed so far away. When she turned back to the table, Derek was looking at her funny.

“What?”

He shrugged. “Nothing.”

♪♫♪♫♪

The house was unusually quiet. Ava was sleeping over with some of her running friends and Lydia’s mom was in her study grading papers. For once in her life, Lydia was caught up on homework and actually had free time. Maybe she’d go to bed at seven. Not like she had anything better to do.

Across the room, her phone made a noise like a train whistle. She highly doubted it was Ava, so that left one other person.

 

_SOS – **C**_

**_L_ ** _– what’s up?_

_I got locked out – **C**_

**_L_ ** _– be there in a sec_

 

Lydia stuck her head into her mother’s study. “Hey, I gotta go run a rescue mission.”

Her mom looked up, distracted. “Okay, be safe.”

“I’ll be back in a few with a temporarily homeless Cora.”

“Have fun, sweetie.”

She probably could have said that she was going to steal Stonehenge and her mom would have given the same response. The grading must not have been going well. Lydia grabbed her keys and picked up her coat. Time to save a damsel in distress.

Cora was sitting on the steps outside of her apartment building. She looked up at the rumble of the engine, staring for a second before coming around to the passenger side.

“Nice ride.”

Lydia shrugged. “I have four jobs. Might as well spend some of the money I make.” And between Armageddon, Forte, teaching lessons, and performing as a concert pianist, she could afford her new model Corvette. Call it an early mid-life crisis. Rock stars didn’t have long life expectancies anyway. “What happened?”

“I guess Stiles and Derek decided it was an impromptu date night. I was at the park and didn’t have my keys.”

“That sucks.”

She grunted in affirmation, then cranked up _Shoot to Thrill_ on the radio.

The rest of the drive passed in comfortable silence. At least they shared the same taste in music, Lydia couldn’t help but muse. As they got closer, she started feeling anxious. Against her will, her hands started clenching and unclenching on the steering wheel. How did you tell someone that you were a kinda sorta famous person that still lived with your mother?

“Dude, whatever you are thinking about, you are way overthinking.”

Lydia sighed. “I used to live with Jackson.”

“Okay?” Cora was familiar with Rodinia, so she probably knew that Lydia had been in a relationship with the lead vocalist. It was all over the tabloids, both before and after their explosive break-up.

Staring at the road, Lydia decided it was best to get it over with. “I live with my mom now.”

Cora huffed out a laugh. “I thought you were going to say you were taking me somewhere to sacrifice me. This is much better.” Lydia looked over to the passenger seat, surprised, but Cora kept going. “Living with a real adult means you probably have food in your pantry.”

Pulling into the driveway, Lydia grinned. When she lived with Jackson, it was takeout every night. That hardly counted as being a ‘real adult.’

Once the Corvette was safely in the garage, Lydia led Cora through the front door.

“We’re home!”

Her mom didn’t respond. No surprise there. Meanwhile, Cora was staring around the entryway, awestruck. Lydia supposed most houses didn’t have an amethyst geode the size of a person next to their front door.

“Well, this is where I live.” She gestured at the general surroundings. Because of her mother’s work, it looked more like a museum than a family home. Well, if you ignored the random rocks on the windowsills and lining the stairs.

“Oh, hello, you must be Cora.” Lydia’s mother appeared from her study. “I’m Dr. Natalie Harper.” She held out her hand for a handshake.

“Nice to meet you, Dr. Harper. Lydia was kind enough to rescue me from a night of sitting outside my apartment.”

“Well, make yourself at home. Don’t be afraid to ask either of us where anything is.”

She looked over at Lydia. “Try not to do anything too crazy. I am going to be grading petrology exams for the rest of my life.”

That could very well be the last they saw of her until the grades were done. Lydia winced sympathetically. “Goodnight, Mom.”

“Doctor of geology?” Cora asked uncertainly, once she had returned to the study.

Lydia nodded. “She teaches here at Beacon State. Her research is on the ancient supercontinent Rodinia.”

A look of understanding crossed Cora’s face. “So the shirt you were wearing the other day, that wasn’t a band shirt?”

“Uh, no. I just thought it was funny.” Lydia glanced down at the oversized pajama shirt she was wearing that read _Igneous is Bliss_. She might as well be honest. “I have a geology pun problem.”

Cora laughed, stopping to pick up a massive chunk of copper. “Woah, this is awesome.”

“Yeah, that’s float copper. Mom picked it up on one of her trips to Michigan.”

“What about this?” She pointed at a cluster of smoky quartz points.

“Those are from a pegmatite in Brazil.”

She held up a muddy brown dodecahedron. “This?”

“A garnet from Poland.”

Setting the garnet down, Cora stared at Lydia. “Are you sure you aren’t a geologist too?”

“I may have taken some classes.” Well, maybe she was only two classes away from a major. “Can’t take music all the time.” Plus her mother worked at the university so she got reduced tuition.

Walking back to the living room, Lydia knelt down to pull a stack of DVDs out from under the TV. “Wanna watch a movie?”

Cora got down on the floor next to her, looking through the selection.

“Lord of the Rings?” she asked hopefully.

“Perfect.” Lydia jumped to her feet. It had been awhile since she’d watched them. And Jackson hated anything remotely entertaining. 

Several hours later, the adventures of Frodo Baggins were rudely interrupted.

“Lydia Heliodor Martin, it is two in the morning. Go to bed.”

Snorting at the hypocrisy of the statement, Lydia just curled further into the couch. “You first, Mom.” It was an ongoing dispute in the Martin-Harper household.

She conceded tiredly. “Right. Well, sleeping bags and blankets are in the closet. I’ll see you in the morning.”

At three, they finished The Two Towers. Lydia fished another DVD out of the couch cushions. “Return of the King?”

“Hell yeah!” Cora wiggled down into her blanket cocoon, tucking her feet under Lydia’s thighs when she settled back beside her.

This was so much better than going to bed at seven.

♪♫♪♫♪

Even before Cora opened her eyes, she knew something was off. Her cheek was pressed against an unfamiliar material and she had a massive crick in her neck. More concerning was the warm weight along her side.

Slowly, the events of the night (well, early morning) came back to her. She blinked a few times, her vision clearing. Coppery hair spilled over her shoulder. Lydia.

Cora poked her ribs, knowing she was ticklish there. “Hey, Lydia. It’s time to get up.”

She jerked awake, almost falling off the couch.

Smirking, Cora caught her arm. Normally she was the one uncoordinated at this time of day. “Morning.”

“Cora! I am so sorry.” Lydia looked panicked. Cora guessed she was as unused to waking up next to someone as she herself was.

She couldn’t help but laugh at the awkwardness. “It’s fine, seriously. I think we both passed out.”

Lydia hesitated. “Breakfast is almost ready. I’m gonna go shower.”

“Um, okay.” Apparently, Lydia had food-sensing super powers.

Cora wandered into the kitchen, where sure enough, Dr. Harper was standing in front of the stove. A stack of paper was laid out on the counter, a pen held between her teeth as she flipped pancakes. Cora squinted at the closely typed sheets.

When Dr. Harper noticed her looking, she said, “It’s a peer-review. I’ve got to get it done by next Friday.”

Scanning the pages, Cora didn’t recognize 80% of the words so she shrugged and plopped onto one of the stools. Cora pulled out her phone and started scrolling through emails. Finstock sent some more info about the upcoming tour. Something they still had to talk to Lydia about.

Right. Lydia. Cora opened up a browser and googled Heliodor. Pictures of a golden colored gemstone filled her screen. It figured that her middle name was a rock (or a mineral Cora supposed, because apparently there was a difference).

She was considering asking Dr. Harper about the significance of Heliodor when the front door slammed open.

“I’m back, losers. Hope you enjoyed another lame Friday night.” The voice came closer. “Hello? Am I just talking to myself here? Are you people still sleeping? It’s like almost noon.”

“In the kitchen.” Dr. Harper didn’t even look up. So not an intruder. That was good.

The voice kept going. “Good. I was afraid you had left me to fend for myself. Remember what happened last time? At least the firefighters were hot.” A girl rounded the corner and froze. “Oh. My. God.” She was staring at Cora, who immediately tensed.

Cora looked to Dr. Harper for help, but she was too busy scribbling something down on one of the papers.

“Ummm, hi? I’m Cora.” _And who the hell are you?_ she wanted to add.

“Shut up, I know who you are.” Shit. Was that fangirling? Fangirling was terrifying.

Dr. Harper sighed. “Avalonia Grace, be nice to our guest.”

Avalonia didn’t seem perturbed. “So, are you and Lydia dating? It’s about time she got back on the horse.”

“Uh, no. We’re just friends.” Although the way they woke up that morning had been nice.

The unfamiliar teenager rolled her eyes. “For now.”

“Ava!” Dr. Harper distractedly reprimanded her while focusing on the paper and the pancakes.

Ava didn’t seem to notice. “If you hurt Lydia, I will kill you.”

It honestly was one of the weirdest conversations of Cora’s life. And she interacted with Stiles Stilinski on a daily basis, so that was really saying something.

“Anyway, I’m a big fan. Lydia always gets me and Mom tickets.” The band’s families could get free tickets at most venues. That had never been an issue for the Hales. Sometimes they would raffle them for charity, but neither of them had spoken to their remaining family members in a while.

“I think you guys are sooooo much better than Rodinia,” Ava was still talking, “although the bassist has a really strange name.”

That caught Cora’s attention. “Who, Stiles?”

She rolled her eyes. Again. “How many other bassists do you have?”

“His real name is ridiculous. Stiles is a nickname.”

“How’d he get it?”

“Well, back when we were really little, his actual name was too hard for Derek to pronounce.” Her older brother had a lisp back then. He grew out of it, but the name stuck.

“So, are they a thing?” Cora didn’t think she had ever met someone so nosy. But if she kept Lydia’s secret, what was one more?

“Yup. They just don’t want the press in their private lives.”

“Are they ever going to tell people?”

“Hopefully when they get married. It’d be nice to move out.” Cora was really just living with them so it didn’t seem ‘couple-y.’ It is pretty hard to explain living in a one-bedroom apartment with another guy, but a three bedroom with a fellow band member, then they’re all just bros.

Ava slammed her hand down on the table. “We need to do something.”

Cora frowned at her intensity. Was she crazy?

After a long-suffering sigh, Ava said, “Come on. Do you want to always divert questions away from them during interviews?”

And it was true. Cora was so sick of getting thrown under the bus at every reference to a secret relationship. Plus, the whole ‘As long as they aren’t shipping me and my brother’ joke had gotten old like a year ago.

“I see your point. But I don’t know if I should interfere.” This was Cora’s brother and her best friend they were talking about.

“Morning Mom. Oh, hey Ava. I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.”

Cora looked up to see Lydia come into the room. She was wearing another geology themed shirt (a shiny gold croptop that proclaimed _It’s a Pyrite’s Life for me_ , where on Earth did she find these things?) and her damp hair hung around her shoulders. Cora pulled her brain back to the conversation. “Yeah, would’ve been nice to know you had a sister.”

“Oh shit. I never said anything?” She looked apologetic. Must have slipped her mind. Lydia didn’t seem like one to talk much about her personal life.

“Language, Lydia,” Dr. Harper chastised.

Like a reflex, Lydia responded. “Sorry Mom.”

Ava butted in. “Lydia, me and Cora are going to come up with a plan to get Derek and Stiles together.”

The announcement earned her a blank stare. “But they’re already together.” Even though no one had said anything, those two were blatantly obvious.

Ava shook her head. “No, like married together.”

Lydia sighed, closing her eyes. How she managed to deal with Ava everyday was a mystery. They were pretty much polar opposites.

Cora grinned. “Want in?”

“You guys are nuts.” But she looked like she was caving.

“We’re calling it operation King of Hearts.” Ava was unable to contain her excitement, dancing from one foot to the other.

“And you suck at code names.”

“Lydia.”

“Sorry Mom.”

 ♪♫♪♫♪

Stupid sed-strat and stupid carbonate diagenesis. Lydia was pretty sure that exam did not go as expected. Oh well. Hopefully she could still scrape by with an A overall.

She was so preoccupied with fuming that she almost missed the scene unfolding right outside the door to the science building. A group of people were crowding on the sidewalk, staring.

“Has anyone ever told you that you look like Cora Hale from Armageddon?” one person was bold enough to ask.

A familiar laugh dragged Lydia from her thoughts. “I actually get that a lot.”

Cora. Lydia pushed her way through the gawkers and there she was, leaning against the brick. As soon as Cora spotted her, she pushed off the wall. “Hey.”

Lydia fell into step beside her, leaving the crowd behind. Once the people were out of earshot, Lydia sprung the question, “What are you doing here?”

“I was at the park and people kept asking me for my autograph, so I decided to come wait for you to get out of class.” Wait. She was bored? And she decided she wanted to hang out with Lydia?

Though one thing stuck out. “Why were you at the park?” From what she observed, Cora only went there when she was stressed or upset.

“Jesh, so many questions.” But she was grinning, so she must not mind. “Stiles and Derek were arguing over the remote and it was either going to end in violence or sex, so I definitely didn’t want to be there.”

Lydia laughed, she would’ve hightailed it out too.

Cora’s smile grew wider as they neared Lydia’s car. “Hey there, beautiful.”

Lydia mock sighed. “And here I thought you wanted to hang out with me, but really you wanted to drool over Hudson.”

“You named your corvette Hudson?” Cora looked at her, eyes wide. “But she’s a lady.”

Lydia snorted inelegantly. “Tell that to Ava. I don’t name cars.”

As they pulled into the driveway, Lydia turned down the stereo. “You might want to prepare yourself to move in. My mom likes taking in strays.”

Cora shrugged. “Bring it on.”

“Hey Mom. Cora and I are home,” Lydia called out into the quiet house.

There was no response. She was probably grading labs or something.

Lydia sighed. “Sorry, this is going to be rather boring. I have homework to finish up before my thing tonight.”

“What kind of thing?” Cora had already made herself at home and was searching through the refrigerator.

“It’s a fundraiser put on by the fire department. They hired me to play piano.” Lydia set her backpack next to the kitchen table.

“That’s awesome! Can I help with anything?” Cora emerged with a can of soda and an apple.

Mentally running over her list of things to do, Lydia shook her head. Practice for voice, practice for lessons, music theory assignment for keyboard lit, psych essay, and practicing for tonight’s show. “I don’t think so, it’s mainly practicing.”

Cora started opening cabinets, looking for a glass. “Hmmm. Not much I can do for you there.”

Lydia was about to offer up her supply of movies and video games when Ava bounced through the door. “Hey, Lydia,” she slid to a halt in the kitchen doorway. “Oh, good. Cora’s here too. How is Operation King of Hearts?”

Lydia rolled her eyes at the ridiculous code name. “How about you and Cora keep yourselves entertained for the next few hours, and I’ll go work on homework.”

Ava grinned and Cora looked rather frightened. Lydia patted her on the shoulder as she walked out. “Good luck.”

A few hours later, there was a tap on the door of the guest-bedroom-turned-piano-studio. Lydia looked up from the music she was reviewing for that night to see Cora leaning against the doorframe.

“Just wanted to let you know, Dr. Mom says dinner is ready.”

Dr. Mom. Lydia shook her head and stood up from the piano bench. “Be down in a second.”

Cora nodded and headed back downstairs. Lydia stacked the music sheets neatly in the leather briefcase that used to belong to her father. All in all, she’d say that she was adequately prepared for the banquet.

Ava and Cora kept up constant banter during dinner. Their mom was distracted, a stack of labs piled next to her plate of spaghetti. Lydia was no better, roughing out an outline for her psych paper with a notepad and pen.

Once everyone had finished, Lydia set her plate in the sink and started running the hot water. Her mother gently pushed her out of the way. “Lydia, you should go get ready. Cora and I can clean up.”

“Mom, Cora is a guest.” Dishes were usually her job anyway.

Cora grinned. “Nope, I’ve got a room here now. I gotta pull my own weight.”

What could she say? Her mother liked having people around. Lydia checked through her music selections once last time before changing into the outfit she had picked out earlier.

By the time she was ready, Ava and Cora were sprawled on the living room floor playing Mario Bros. Lydia swung her music bag onto her shoulder and straightened her skirt. “Alright, you guys behave. I’ll be back around midnight.”

“Have fun, Lydia,” her mom called from her study.

“Bring me back a hot fire fighter!”

“Ava!”

“Sorry, Mom.”

Cora laughed at the exchange and Lydia couldn’t help but think of how nicely she fit here with the rest of her family.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the last of the semi-coherent pre-written stuff. wish me luck as i wade in to a 3+ year old WIP that is truly a nightmare

Lydia was perched on her desk chair, typing furiously. Cora wandered over to the window and picked up a bright orange geode off of the sill. She was fascinated by Lydia’s room, a cross between a rock museum and a planetarium. She didn’t seem to notice Cora going through her stuff, so Cora upped her game.

_Help I’m gonna die of boredom – **C**_

Lydia’s phone whistled and she checked it automatically.

“Seriously?” Uh oh. She did not sound happy. Must be a rough paper.

 “Come on, I wasn’t here at all yesterday to distract you.” It was true, Cora had gone back to her place for the first time in almost a week. Only because her brother had bribed her with homemade pizza and videogames.

“That doesn’t mean you have to try and make up for it.” She was dressed comfortably in what looked like a pair of Ava’s track sweats and her long hair piled into a messy bun. Her t-shirt of the day read ‘ _Are you a carbon sample? Cuz I want to date you_.’ Even though Cora now knew that the pun shirts were stolen from Dr. Harper's wardrobe, she shook her head fondly. What a dork.

Sprawling on the floor, Cora looked up at the constellations painted on the ceiling. “Finish your paper. I’ll be copy editor.”

The frantic typing started up again, so she fished out her sketchbook and a pencil. Hours might have passed before Lydia paused, the clacking of keys halting abruptly. The sudden silence made Cora look up. Lydia’s eyes were fixed on her pencil, which was tracing out constellations onto the paper.

“What?”

It seemed to startle Lydia out of her daydream and she blinked. “Sorry.”

“Write your paper.” Cora looked down at her drawing. It was the constellation Leo with a life-like lion. Lydia must have been typing for a while.

A few keys clicked, then stopped. She was staring again.

Cora groaned. “I’m not even trying to distract you.”

“I’m done.”

“Oh.” She flipped the sketchbook closed. “Do you want me to read it?”

“Yeah. Sure.”

Accepting the offered laptop, Cora started to read the first sentence. Lydia’s eyes were still on her, burning a hole through her skin. Cora sighed. “I can’t do this with you glaring at me.”

“Umm, sorry. I was just wondering…” Was she blushing? Awkward.

When she didn’t continue Cora shook her head. “Wondering what?” She wasn’t a mind reader.

“Can I see your drawings?”

Huh. Well that was unexpected. “Will you stop trying to incinerate me with your laser vision if I say yes?”

Lydia nodded, so Cora passed over the spiral bound book and focused back on the computer screen. It was like that one time when she tried to read the paper Dr. Harper was editing. She didn’t understand many of the concepts, but she could at least do spelling and grammar.

Cora changed a few tenses and reworded some run-on sentences before handing off the laptop. “Looking good.”

“Thanks, Cora.” Lydia hesitated, eyes still fixed on the sketchbook. Cora craned her neck, possibly recognizing the willow trees from the park from where she was seated on the floor. “Did you study art in school?”

The question startled a laugh out of her. “No, I started out in engineering.”

Lydia looked shocked. “What?”

“Well, Stiles and Derek were both engineers.” And it had seemed like a logical choice at the time.

“What?” This time even more disbelieving. Cora got that it was hard to picture Stiles taking calculus 3 or thermodynamics, but he hid his intelligence under a carefully maintained facade of laziness. Plus, he'd had Derek to keep him focused.

“Yeah, Stiles is electrical, Derek is mechanical.”

Lydia shook her head. “No way.”

Cora shrugged. “I dropped out after Armageddon joined the big leagues.” She had hated engineering anyway.

They were silent for a bit, Cora playing with a chunk of obsidian she had excavated from under Lydia’s bed and Lydia flipping through the sketchbook.

“Have you ever thought about life after the band?”

Cora set the obsidian on the rug. “Honestly, I’ve always wanted to be an artist.” It was the truth. She had been dreaming about it since she was six or seven.

Lydia was quiet for a minute, studying another drawing. “Would you go to school for art, or no?”

“What do you mean?” Cora was half under the bed, reaching for a small cube of what might have been pyrite. She’d been doing research. Mainly so she could understand the shirt puns.

“I mean majoring in classical piano almost ruined music for me.”

That was actually something Cora had put a lot of thought into. Whether or not to pursue her art academically. “I know that I have the skills and talent for it.” She just didn’t really feel the need to get a teaching degree or anything.

“And a place in the public eye.” Lydia looked up from the book in time to see Cora army crawl from under her bed.

“That’s the biggest thing.” Cora set the shiny cube next to the obsidian. “I was thinking a business degree or something.”

“Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out.”

She might have added more, but at that moment Ava hollered up the stairs. “Cora! Lydia! Food!”

Lydia offered a hand and yanked Cora to her feet. 

♪♫♪♫♪

Steeling herself, Lydia hit submit. No point in re-reading the damn thing for the hundredth time. She scrubbed a hand over her face. It was midnight. She just had to finish the sed-strat lab from last week, then she could go to bed. Coffee would help.

Much to her surprise, Cora was already sitting at the kitchen table, steaming mug in hand. She had an economics book spread out on the table in front of her and was mindlessly tapping a highlighter against the wooden surface as she read.

She started slightly as Lydia walked in. “How did the exam go?”

Lydia shrugged. “It’s done.”

Even though she complained, Lydia’s course load was nothing compared to what Cora had taken on. At the halfway point in the semester, she dove head-first into getting her associates degree in business. With five accelerated classes, she rarely slept.

Let it never be said that Cora Hale did anything by halves.

“How do you manage?”

“Hmm?” Lydia’s brain was miles away. She needed caffeine.

“I mean, I am like at least two weeks past my bedtime and not even halfway through this term.”

Lydia laughed, too loud for the silent house. “I can’t remember not being tired. It’s pretty much a part of my personality at this point.”

Cora smiled, an exhausted shadow of her usual grin. “There’s still coffee in the pot.”

Setting out her stratigraphic column correlations and colored pencils, Lydia went to pull down a mug. It was going to be a long night, but at least the company was excellent.

 

♪♫♪♫♪

Cora sat on the edge of her chair, craning her neck to see over the seething mass of people in the aisle ways. Derek and Stiles were supposed to arrive ten minutes ago. Good thing she was saving them a spot. The start time was creeping closer when she finally spotted one head above the rest. Derek. She waved him over and he and Stiles dropped into the seats next to her.

Derek addressed Dr. Harper immediately. “Sorry we’re late. The one-ways here are nuts.” It was true. Navigating campus was a nightmare.

Ava was sitting on the other side of her mother and looked like she might be going into cardiac arrest. Cora wasn’t even sure she was breathing. She smirked, reminding herself to tell Lydia about how her sister almost fangirled to death over their two dorky bandmates.

Dr. Harper smiled. “I’m glad you boys could make it. Lydia has been working all semester for this recital.”

From what Lydia had told Cora, the performance was her crowning achievement. She had spent almost an entire year writing a song as some sort of senior project for her composition concentration.

According to the flyers they picked up on the way in, Lydia was playing toward the end of the show. So they listened to oboes and violinists and even a tuba player. Cora was no classical music expert, but she thought they all sounded pretty good.

Then Lydia stepped out into the bright lights. She was all dressed up, completely the opposite of her usual stage look. Her edgy leather and studs were swapped for a gauzy white dress that contrasted sharply with her coppery hair. Cora immediately found herself wishing for a sketchbook.

She looked like she belonged there, seated before the hulking black piano, fingers resting on the keys. The entire auditorium seemed to hold its breath in anticipation, Cora included. Beside her, Derek leaned forward. Cora had half a second to wonder if he was watching her for any sign of nervousness before the melody started.

It wasn’t as if she’d never heard Lydia play, but this moment was different. Maybe it was the lighting or the crowd, but the haunting music seemed alive; black and white keys spinning galaxies in the air. When she was done, the rich tones lingered for a moment before the audience broke into deafening applause.

The recital continued without Cora paying any attention. That was it. That was the breakthrough she was waiting for. The song she was writing was a ballad. It just needed a pianist.

Her fingers itched for a pen and a keyboard. Maybe Lydia would let her borrow some of the themes. Hell, maybe she should just write Armageddon’s music from now on. Cora could still do lyrics. That was an idea to bring up at practice tomorrow. Derek elbowed her – hard – drawing Cora’s attention back to the real world where people were filing out of the auditorium.

Stiles, being the tallest (much to her brother’s annoyance), spotted her first. She was waiting just outside the doors, looking like an angel in her white dress. Shit. Cora had no idea how to act.

Luckily Derek was way ahead of her. He pulled Lydia into a hug, saying, “I told you you’d do great.”

People were staring. The band must’ve been recognized. Or maybe Dr. Harper was just a really popular professor. Lydia looked a little uncomfortable.

Stiles saved the day by throwing an arm over each of their shoulders and steering them toward the parking lot. “Let’s go eat. I’m starving.”

♪♫♪♫♪

This was it. Lydia was done with school. At least until next fall, but one thing at a time. She walked out of the science building, not sure whether she wanted to skip with joy or collapse in an exhausted heap.

“Hey.” Cora fell into step beside her.

Lydia didn’t have the energy to be surprised. “Hey yourself.”

“How’d it go?” She must have walked here from the community college after her exam.

“Could’ve been better, could’ve been worse.” Lydia shrugged and pulled her keys out of her pocket. “You?”

She laughed. “Same.”

They were silent until they made it into the house. Lydia was still trying to convince herself that she wasn’t forgetting some last-minute assignment. Finals week was easily her least favorite part of the semester. She could only imagine how Cora was feeling.

“Which one was this?” Lydia meant exam, but her brain was not putting thoughts together coherently.

Luckily, Cora always seemed to know what she meant. “Art history.”

“You aced that one.” The conviction in her voice wasn’t unfounded. Cora had spent the most time on that class, sharing all kinds of random facts and observations with anyone who would listen. Lydia now knew more about Michelangelo and Raphael than she ever wanted to.

Cora shifted, looking uncomfortable. “Well, I don’t know.”

A voice made them both jump. “Nope, you definitely aced it.” Her mom was sitting on the couch, a massive stack of exams spread out next to her.

Lydia was shocked. “Mom! I thought we weren’t going to see you for at least another week.”

She laughed. “I already had three students come in offering bribes. Figured it was less distracting to grade at home.”

“People actually bribe professors?” Cora asked, intrigued.

Lydia’s mom turned mockingly strict. “Don’t be getting any ideas, young lady.”

“I would never,” Cora responded, wounded expression betrayed by her crooked smile.

She set aside the exam she had been grading, now covered in red ink. “So when do you graduate?”

“As soon as grades are final, they’ll send me my diploma.”

“No ceremony?” Mom sounded disappointed.

Cora shrugged. “Nah. Ceremonies are boring.”

A scheming look quickly replaced the disappointment. “How about we have a nice dinner? You can invite Stiles and Derek and the rest of your family.”

“Um, can I think about it?” Cora had stiffened as the mention of the rest of her family. Lydia didn’t know the story there, but none of the other band members seemed close with their families.

Oblivious to Cora’s discomfort, her mom smiled. “Sure, honey. We can talk more after grades are in.”

Cora nodded. “I’m gonna go catch up on sleep. Let me know when you want dinner started.” She bolted before Mom could respond.

Lydia sighed. “Me too. I am wiped.”

The door to the guestroom was already shut by the time she made it up the stairs. She tapped on the frame. “Let me in.”

“It’s open.”

Lydia turned the handle and stepped inside, closing the door softly behind her. Cora was sprawled out on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

Perching on the end of the mattress, Lydia reached for a lump of coal sitting on the windowsill. Cora continued to ignore her, so she waited, turning the oily black cobble over in her hands.

After a few minutes of silence, Lydia caved and let the coal drop to the bed. “My dad was an astrophysicist.” She pulled the star pendant out from where it was tucked under her sweatshirt collar. “He left when I was eight.”

Lydia could feel the weight of Cora’s eyes, burning as she spoke. “This was the last birthday gift I got from him.” Lydia ran my fingers over the smooth silver chain. “There is nothing I want more than just one more minute, one more hug, one more dad joke.” She stifled a watery laugh and a tear landed in her lap. Shit.

“Sorry, this wasn’t supposed to get emotional.” Lydia swiped a sleeve across her eyes. “I just don’t want you to regret anything.”

There was a hand on her arm. Lydia didn’t realize Cora had moved, but then she was pulling her in for an awkward embrace. Except it wasn’t awkward. Lydia buried her face in Cora’s shirt and breathed in the smell of rain and pine trees. The two stayed like that until Ava shouted for dinner.

**Author's Note:**

> Rebloggable (tumblr) link [HERE!](https://theproblemwithstardust.tumblr.com/post/182594170162/reunite-rodinia-read-on-ao3-good-morning)


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